2013/07/13

Leaving the Keys (2)

OK, so speaking of the Florida Keys, after passing Key Largo and the quiet outskirts we saw many boaters enjoying the sparkling water.

1339 Happy Boaters

Some of the happy people who live and play here might use boats more than cars.

1350 Beach Boating

Some of the houses that have apparently been destroyed by hurricanes have sturdy shells that still seem to provide some useful shelter.

1362 Stout Shell

The long causeway that connects the island chain is a lifeline, and in some places where it’s been upgraded they left portions of an earlier one in place.

1364 Old & New

Parts of those older portions are now quite useful for pedestrians and cyclists going between keys.

1390 Bike Freeway

I’ve already shared some words & pix from the Keys trip, but here’s Key West where we turned around to head back up the chain for our landing at Marathon. It’s obviously a major cruise ship destination.

1429 Key West

So skipping past more stuff you’ve already seen about the day, here’s another look at Miami where we passed much closer to downtown than on our way to the Keys.

1551 Miami

I like the geometry of this perspective on the skyline, and how the water line is so integrated with the city (though I’m guessing hurricanes would be a big concern).

1552 Water World

We passed near enough to a cruise ship that I could snap this zoom pic of a crowd enjoying some sort of show. Until looking at the full-size pic after the flight, I thought maybe it was the lifeboat orientation. Actually, maybe it was and they did it with a show rather than a lecture.

1559 Show or Drill?

Having landed at Fort Lauderdale to clear customs when we came back from the Bahamas, it was interesting to fly nearly over it on our way to the day’s final destination.

1570 KFLL Airport

We also got a good look at the city, though after all we’d seen on this day it didn’t seem an especially impressive place.

1574 Ft. Lauderdale

Now I haven’t mentioned it today, but I’d been watching the weather very closely after we passed Miami. There were several thunderstorms brewing from there to Lake Worth’s KLNA airport. Several times I very nearly diverted to other destinations, but could hear on the radio and see out the window that it was safe to at least go further to take a look and have ample alternatives well clear of the storms. So it was with considerable relief that we were able to stay far enough from those dark clouds in the distance.

6174 Approaching Storm

As we touched down some lightning started in the distance, and after we firmly tied Tripp down in case of gusty winds later, it started to rain while we gathered and sorted luggage. Walking into the airport office we got a good bath at the end of quite a full day. 🙂